Former Germany coach Berti Vogts is recovering in hospital after a long-planned operation on a heart valve, the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed on Monday.

The 68-year-old, who coached Germany to the European Championship title in 1996 in England, said he was feeling well as he recovers in intensive care at the University Hospital in Tuebingen, near Stuttgart.

"They are taking excellent care of me and I am doing well," Vogts, who was Germany's head coach from 1990 to 1998, told German daily Bild.

"I have known for the last three or four months that I needed a new heart valve."

Vogts, who has also coached Scotland and Nigeria during his career, resigned as Azerbaijan coach in October after a 6-0 thrashing by Croatia and says he wants to keep working in football by revealing he is set to take charge of an undisclosed team.

"I am close to signing a contract and am looking forward to the new challenge," he said.